Various devices have been proposed for keeping food, such as popcorn, warm prior to serving to a customer. One such recent apparatus is identified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,178, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This type of merchandiser operates by heating air, which is then circulated and recirculated around individual portions of food.
Another prior art example of a heated product merchandiser is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,120 ("the 120 patent"), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The device disclosed in the '120 patent has two interconnected compartments for food, a bulk storage compartment for heating, storing and displaying food in bulk, and a storage and display compartment for heating, storing, and displaying food in individual portions.
Many disadvantages to these prior art product merchandisers and food warmers have been identified. One prior art model has a thermostat at the top of the chimney that senses the temperature of the air when it reaches the top of the merchandiser. This thermostat can only sense the temperature if there is sufficient air flow, however. If heated air flow is restricted, an extended period of time may pass before thermostat at the top of the merchandiser switches the heater off. During this time period, the food at the bottom of the merchandiser may be overheated and scorched.
Another drawback is the need for an attendant to serve food. Prior art devices were designed to be attended at all times since the doors of the units faced the server. Typically, a user approaches one side of the cabinet and asks the attendant on the other side for a portion package of food. The attendant opens the doors facing her, removes a portion package, and hands it to the customer. While this may be appropriate for many food service situations, it is not appropriate for those which require the relatively fast distribution of foods to multiple customers during very busy periods.
The prior art merchandisers were also limited in that they could not be integrated easily into a food service line. Typically, a food service line has a shelf or counter facing the customer that allows the customer to select his own food at each station. As each customer slides his tray along the line from station to station, he selects individual portion packages to place on his tray.
Yet another drawback is the limited space provided for attendants to the apparatus. A merchandiser with a single bulk food compartment door provides space for only a single attendant at a time. When an attendant bends over to scoop up food into individual portion packages, there is little space for an additional attendant to also fill portion packages with food or room to fill the bulk food compartment.
Other problems with prior art devices include the unnecessary time required to clean the machine as each portion package is removed. As each portion package is removed there is inevitably some spillage. This spillage gathers on each of the shelves of the portion compartment and must be swept out. Unfortunately, sweeping requires that the portion packages be removed from the upper unit and placed in a different location (typically room temperature) while the shelves are cleaned. Meanwhile, the food cools off and is unpalatable to the customer.
Some foods like popcorn may fragment into small particles that are not saleable. This typically happens in the bulk food compartment where the food is scooped into portion packages. In the prior art merchandisers there is no way of separating these small particles from the saleable food without emptying the lower bin and somehow sifting the bulk food--an awkward process at best.
Accordingly, the present invention provides simple solutions to these problems in a heretofore unknown manner, so as to improve the efficiency of serving bulk foods and to improve the food's palatability.